Dear Mr. Pessimist,

This is the second to last sticky note. I just wanted to say thank you for everything last night. I. . . I don't even know how to show you how grateful I was to have someone there for me for once. Thank you, Bennett.

Love,

Syd

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo

I woke up to Erin screaming in the middle of the night.

I had forgotten where I was and ended up flying out of the bed, my hand thrown over my chest. Bennett had only laughed and went to pick up the three year old, grabbing one of her toys and sitting with her on the bed.

"Sorry about that. She. . . she does that a lot. Her grandparents think it's because she was. . . she was pulled away from Hannah to early. She hadn't finished breastfeeding, she didn't have her mom holding her until she fell asleep. I thought it was crap but now. . . now I'm not sure." Bennett was watched the girl on his lap as she shook the toy keys in her hands.

"C. . . can I see her?" I whispered, sitting beside him as my heart slowed back to normal. He picked her up and set her on my lap, brushing a lock of her blonde hair out of her green eyes. I smiled down at her, she stared back up at me with curious eyes.

"Hi, sweetie." I whispered to her, "You're so pretty, just like your Mommy." I said. She turned in Bennett's direction and frowned.

"Dada." His head snapped up in surprise, immediately shaking.

"No, Erin. I'm not Daddy. I. . . I'm Bennett." He told her, believing that a three year old would understand what he was saying.

"Dada!" She said again, "Up!" She grabbed at his hand, starting to whimper again. I gave Bennett a quick look before squeezing Erin's little hand gently.

"What's wrong, sweetie? You want to be up?" I stood up, watching as a satisfied look crossed the little girls face and she went back to playing with the toy keys.

"Dammit." Bennett muttered under his breath, "I don't want her thinking that I'm her father." I shifted Erin on my hip and gave him a questioning look over her shoulder.

"Why? Is that really so bad? Bennett she doesn't have a real Mom or Dad. She's going to grow up raised by her grandparents that didn't even love their daughter in the first place." He reached for the toys scattered on the ground and put them back in the bag beside her crib.

"So what do you expect me to do? Give up my entire life and raise a child that isn't even mine?" He growled. I blinked at how defensive he was getting, shocked. It took me a second to realize why he had gotten so mad.

"No, I'm not saying that. Wait until you have your life together, after college, and maybe you can take custody of her. I'm sure Hannah's parents will change their mind once they see how great you are." I ran my finger along his cheek. "I'm just saying that you can be there for her, you can be a sure thing. And if you loved Hannah, Bennett, then this is your way of holding on to her." He stared at the girl in my arms, his eyes emotionless for a second, as if he were processing what I had said.

"I'm scared, okay?" He finally choked out, avoiding my eyes.

"Scared of what, Bennett?"

"That I won't be a good father. That I'll be just like my father, like yours. And what happens when she's old enough and I have to tell her what happened to her Mom. What if she's not ready?" He had both of his hands buried in his messy brown hair. I set Erin down for a second and took both of Bennett's hands in mine, nodding. I knew exactly what he was trying to say.

"Don't worry, Bennett. I know you'll be ready when the time comes."

*

The second time I woke up I followed the smell of brownies down to Bennett's kitchen where he was talking to Erin in her highchair. Mr. and Mrs. Banks were sitting at the kitchen table, their eyes on the boy smiling down at the baby in front of him.

"Good morning." Bennett kissed my forehead as I sat at the bar by his counter, next to Erin's highchair.

"You're in a good mood." I said with a smile. He nodded, mixing the batter in the bowl.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me happy." He replied.

"I am. It's just. . . different. It's a good look on you." I smiled, my words lingering in the air for a second before he responded.

"I got your note." He said, leaning over the counter to touch my cheek, "And I'll always be here for you, Syd. You don't have to always be strong, it's okay to fall apart sometimes, to reach a breaking point." He was so quiet that I had to lean closer to him to hear what he was saying.

"What are you cooking?" I asked, changing the subject. Erin clapped her hands beside me.

"Bwonies!" She giggled, her eyes on Bennett.

"Forget about the brownies." he said to her, "You have to go back to grandma and grandpa tomorrow and they'd have a heart attack if they knew I let you have chocolate." She seemed to understand what Bennett was saying and looked down at the bowl of fruit in front of her. He turned his attention to back to me and held out a brownie.

"As for you, I'm sure you're tired of me by now and want to go home. I'll walk you out to the car once I take a shower."

*

I sat in the cold lobby, wrapping my sheer sweater around me tighter. The secretary finally nodded and stood up, giving me a fake smile.

"Miss Hale, please follow me." I grabbed my purse and headed after the woman, fighting the urge to turn and run right now. It was too late by the time I reached the office, just in time to see a woman kiss my father and slip out of the room with a seductive wave.

"Mr. Hale, your daughter is here to see you." My dad looked up, genuinely shocked by my sudden appearance.

"Let her in." The secretary pushed the door to my dad's office open and let me in, smiling until she had shut the door behind her.

"Sydney, honey! I'm so glad to see you-"

"I have a proposition for you." I interrupted him, trying to sound confident. He frowned, his forehead creasing.

"What is it?" He said.

"Bennett seems to think that it's possible for him to do a full restoration on his new bakery, but he still doesn't have enough money for it. Not when he has to pay for school and send money to his da. . . his goddaughter every month." I explained, lacing my fingers through each other on his desk, "I need you to give him some money to help out with the bakery."

He looked ready to jump in, but I held my finger up and shook my head.

"Don't worry, there's something in it for you." I snapped, "I'll work here for you part time for the next four years. If I feel that I want to stay, I will let you know." He ran his fingers along the stubble on his chin, his eyes narrowed. I sat with my arms crossed over my chest, biting the inside of my lip.

"You really love this boy, Sydney?" He eventually muttered. I nodded without hesitation.

"I think I do, Dad. I really think I do." I answered, my voice wavering slightly.

"Then I want you to just take the money, sweetheart. I don't want you to feel obligated to work for me, not anymore. If you want too, great. But you can just have the money without giving me anything in return." I felt my mouth start to open.

"Thank you." I said, writing the price on a sticky note and handing it over to him. He wrote a check as if the money weren't anything but a bug he was trying to get rid of.

"And Sydney?" He called after me when I was almost out the door.

"Yeah?" I glanced at him over my shoulder.

"Just make sure you don't make the same mistakes I did, that your mom did. You're your own person, I don't want to see you become us." I stared at him for a second longer, my head moving in a nod as the words sunk in and I shut the door behind me.

*

"What's your surprise?" Bennett asked, looking up from my bed. "If you're going to get all kinky or anything, let me know in advance please." I couldn't help but smile at what he said.

"Sorry, Bennett. As much as you'd love that, I have something even better." I grabbed the envelope from my dresser and handed it to him. He stared at it skeptically before opening it.

"Sydney-"

"Don't tell me you don't need or want it. I love seeing how happy you are about the whole bakery blueprint, Ben. I want you to be happy all the time and this money will help get you there." He set the envelope on my computer chair a few feet away and pulled me down on to his lap.

"You're amazing." He said, kissing me as I wrapped my arms around his waist. "So fucking amazing." I smiled as he kissed me again, feeling his hand on the small of my back.

I felt his lips against my neck, a moan escaping my mouth within seconds.

"Stop that." He shook his head, "If you don't want to have sex then stop moaning." I dug my nails into his back, glaring at him.

"You're the one that's biting my neck, you vampire." I said, sounding like a child. He smirked.

"It's not my fault you get turned on so damn easily, Syd." He brushed his lips under my ear, laughing as he whispered into it.

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think it would be a great idea for you to get up right now." I glanced down, my cheeks flushing.

"That's your problem, Bennett. Not mine." I shifted my leg a little, earning a groan out of him.

"You're the one that decided it would be a great idea to straddle me." He whispered. I leaned down and kissed him, my hand reaching for the bottom of his shirt.

"Then maybe I should take care of the problem for you."

* *

I woke up with a start, my eyes shooting open. I gasped even more when I felt the cold air nip at my bare body. I looked over at Bennett, letting out a deep breath.

I laid back down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, nudging Bennett with my foot.

"Hmm?" He groaned.

"Did we have sex?" I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from him.

"Yeah." He mumbled, like it was no big deal. I flicked his arm, earning a glare out of him.

"Do you not remember or something?" He propped himself up on his elbow.

"Most of it." I admitted.

I could still feel flashes of what happened last night bouncing around in my head.

I could remember everything up until halfway through the sex, the rest was a blur.

"You don't remember, do you?" He cracked a smile.

"I don't remember after you, uh, you know." I replied. He nodded, throwing his arm over me and pulling me back against his bare chest.

"Nobody ever does, Sydney. I'm some sort of legend." I laughed, feeling his cold hand on my neck.

"Bennett?" I whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm in love with you." I waited for something, I just wasn't exactly sure what.

"That's a relief." He was laughing as he responded, "Because I know I'm in love with you."

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed!

 I'm so upset there are only a few chapters left :/

Let me know what you thought!

~ChasingMadness24